Lyoto Machida on the Rua Decision

The rematch between light-heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is on hold for the moment after the controversial decision that went to Machida during UFC 104.

UFC president Dana White scorched the judges and immediately began lobbying for a rematch. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the rematch, and Machida has undergone surgery on one of his hands.

Machida’s manager, Ed Soares, said his man will be ready when the time comes for the rematch.

“He had surgery yesterday on his left hand,” Soares said. “The doctor said it was a complete success. “Lyoto’s hand has been actually injured for a while,” Soares said. “Before the fight with ‘Shogun,’ he went to the doctor, and he went to a special surgeon in Brazil. Basically, they say said that he was going to need surgery, but he didn’t want to cancel the fight. He just roughed it through this training camp. The hand has been bothering him for quite a while now. It was one of those situations. He just roughed through it.”

Soares said the surgery was not an excuse for the champions performance at UFC 104,

“We’re not trying to make any excuses or anything. We didn’t come out and say anything. We said Lyoto was 100 percent, which he was. But his injury has been bothering him for a while, so we went in and had the surgery, and they found bone spurs. They found a bone fragment down there. There were about four things the doctor said were causing him pain. Thank God they cleared him all up yesterday.”

Machida will need at least six weeks recovery, Soares said, with an additional two to four weeks before being able to train at 100 percent. With this timeline, it will push any immediate rematch closer to March or April, but Soares declared the fight will be against Rua,

“We want that fight. We want to leave no doubt who the light heavyweight champion is,” Soares added.

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